At this rate, Kendrick Lamar is the King Midas of Hip-Hop: meaning that anything that he touches turns to gold. The Black Panther soundtrack is no different, as the album, curated by Lamar and Top Dawg, is an aural masterpiece. The soundtrack seems like it will tie in perfectly, which will be released on Thursday. The much anticipated album has an all star cast of artists lending their talents, which include Kendrick Lamar himself, TDE labelmates SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul, as well as A-List artists such as Khalid, The Weeknd and Travi$ Scott.It seems as though Kendrick’s purpose with the album was to make songs from the perspectives of the Black Panther himself, T’Challa, the movie’s main antagonist Killmonger, and the nation of Wakanda as a whole as well. The album starts with the Black Panther intro, and from there you go on a journey into how the movie is expected to go, giving an insight to the hero and villain’s thoughts, relationships and emotions as a whole.What also makes this album amazing is the fact that it introduces you to artists that also effectively give a sneak peek to the movie as well. The “I don’t care” attitude of Killmonger is perfectly shown in songs “Paramedic!” by Northern California artists SOBxRBE and “Opps” by Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok. The songs blend in with each other perfectly on the album and if the movie is as good as the songs on the album, this movie maybe the greatest grossing movie of all time.

Kendrick Lamar did a fantastic job with this album and it is pretty clear that he is the best rapper in the game right now. I personally feel that this album is better than his album “DAMN” which was released last year, and he won 5 Grammy’s for this year. After the critical acclaim of all of his albums, I believe that the conversation for the best rapper of all time has started for Lamar, and this album just further approves his greatness.

DJ SWOLE GRADE: This album will be talked about at the end of 2018 as one of the best for a reason, and may also be in the conversation for greatest movie soundtrack of all time. A+

Alex Jones is ½ of the DJ and Swole Show, which airs every Wednesday from 10 AM to 12 PM.

At this rate, Kendrick Lamar is the King Midas of Hip-Hop: meaning that anything that he touches turns to gold. The Black Panther soundtrack is no different, as the album, curated by Lamar and Top Dawg, is an aural masterpiece. The soundtrack seems like it will tie in perfectly, which will be released on Thursday. The much anticipated album has an all star cast of artists lending their talents, which include Kendrick Lamar himself, TDE labelmates SZA, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul, as well as A-List artists such as Khalid, The Weeknd and Travi$ Scott.

Disclaimer: Red Bull kindly and generously provided transport, lodging, and access to Mick Jenkins’ performance in Nashville. That said, the views and opinions of the album are solely those of the author.

My first exposure to Mick Jenkins was a cram study session ahead of his October gig for Red Bull Sound Select in Nashville. For whatever reason his name was one that I hadn’t really paid attention to around the studio. That said, what little I had time to hear from the Huntsville native set up some solid expectations, which were absolutely met on a cold October night in the packed full Exit/In. Between a constant flow between styles, messages, and a treatise to “drink more water,” Jenkins carried a charisma on-stage with him that boosted his material. It was after that fact that I got a hold his late September release “The Healing Component.”

Before we get to the "tale of the tape", perhaps its best to fill you in on what kind of showdown we've got here.

Birmingham Big Battle is a 1v1, winner stays on competition between some of the best local artists and bands. Each week, the champion takes on a new challenger, with the winner decided via voting from our listeners on Twitter (@blazeradio, in case you were wondering). Voting runs through to the next Wednesday, where we'll announce the champ on that week's show.

Chance the Rapper released his highly anticipated third mixtape “Coloring Book” on Thursday, May 12th, through Apple Music. The independent artist who hails from Chicago release 14 songs with features from stars such as Young Thug, Lil Wayne, and Kirk Franklin. This mixtape is a follow up to his very well received mixtapes “10 Day” and “Acid Rap”. I took time to listen to it and this is what I came up with.